When a federal government employee steps forward with information about government wrongdoing, what protections should they get? Does American law do a good job of protecting such individuals? What could it do better?

Recent years have seen quite a few high-profile federal whistleblowers, including, among many others, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and Reality Winner. But the latter two are servingtime in prison, while the former is living in Russia and would face prosecution if he were to return to the United States. All have been called traitors, and their lives have been threatened. Anonymous whistleblowers are more and more easily exposed nowadays, and yet exposure can mean similar penalties.

Every whistleblowing case is different. The underlying wrongdoing may be of varying severity. Collateral information may be released as well, and it may be of a more or less sensitive nature. And each individual whistleblower will be a human individual, with strengths and weaknesses that may look very different when they suddenly stand in the public eye.

This month’s lead essay is by Cato’s own Patrick G. Eddington, a research fellow in homeland security and civil liberties; our response essayists will be Jesselyn Radack, director of the Whistleblower and Source Protection Program at ExposeFacts, and Professor Christopher J. Coyne of George Mason University.

Comments will also be open, and we welcome readers’ feedback through the end of the month.